crashing and clanging

This month I finally turned my cymbal synthesizer code into a VST plugin. It was a bit of an ordeal; there was a lot of UI coding involved, but I'm pretty happy with how it's turned out.

The plugin contains 6 instances of the cymbal synthesizer, each of which can be freely assigned to specific MIDI notes. I've included 7 presets to give an idea of how to program it. The basic architecture is an implementation of the approach outlined at the end of this old Sound on Sound article by Gordon Reid (see also the previous article in the series).

Borrowing from the approach Tsugi take with their DSP series of procedural sound generators, I coded a custom slider widget for this one. Basically, all of the main parameters are randomisable. Dragging a slider horizontally sets its value, but dragging it vertically sets its randomisation range. If a parameter is set to randomise, the synthesizer will pick a random value for that parameter whenever it is triggered.

I recorded a short demo of it in action here.

Download crashing and clanging

Controls: MIDI notes; mouse (hold shift when dragging a slider to only set its value; hold ctrl when dragging to only set its randomisation range)

The Rules:

• The file at this link will be deleted 1 month from now (3/5/25).
• All downloads are zipfiles containing a ~Windows executable~ (in this case, a Windows VST3 plugin).
• All source code and assets are included, licensed under the GPL.
• As long as you abide by the license, you can do whatever you want with the download.

Further Reading

Elizabeth Sandifer reaches Neil Gaiman in her vast 'Last War in Albion' chronicle of British comic writers from the 80's onwards. CW: abuse, rape

Erin Kissane on Ursula Franklin:

"just eliminating something that produces fear doesn’t genuinely work toward justice or peace if it ratchets up someone else’s terror. As Franklin said, “There’s no way to be secure when others are more insecure; there’s no way to reduce fear through means that make the burden on others greater.'"

Hito Steyerl on the consequences of generative AI's statistical approach to content creation.

I listened to the Young Lords episodes of Margaret Killjoy's Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff podcast this month. Including it here mainly because it taught me the origin of the phrase "male chauvinist pig"; it's not comparing someone to the animal, it's comparing someone to a cop. It's saying "you're acting like a cop!" Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Beautiful minimalist tape + piano composition by Lisa Lerkenfeldt, including an explanation of how the piece works. Via Andi McClure

"art should only ever make you less employable than you were before"

Short series of photos of St Louis' City Museum. Wow.

I really liked this synth performance, especially the tiny bright pixels dancing over the musician like fireflies flickering in and out of sight.

Why Dads Take Their Gay Sons to Hooters:

"later in the meal, when my grandfather went to the restroom, she slipped into the booth across from me and leaned in close. “You’re perfect just the way you are, kid,” she said, or something near enough to it, her voice low, kind and certain."

I have no idea how baseball works, but this is a fun story about the worst player in the league bucking all expectations and doing something extraordinary.

If you're in or around London next weekend I'll be giving an interactive talk titled the WHY FOLK GAMES? manifesto at Now Play This on the Friday morning, and running a making it up as we go along workshop on the Saturday morning. I've been told the talk will be streamed online, but I'm not sure where or how (maybe the Now Play This youtube channel?).

I'm trying something a bit unusual with the talk, so here's hoping it works... I've also been told I'm taking part in a 90 mins panel discussion in the afternoon, which I am dreading to be honest. Any time I've taken part in a panel discussion in the past I've always come out of it feeling like the least insightful, least interesting person on the entire planet. And I've never done such a long one at the end of an already long day.

Anyway, the weather has been great here this week, and my garden has been full of colour and birds, so I can't complain too much. Hope there's been colour and birdsong with you too.